Ok, I admit it. In the very early days of having kids, I sometimes fantasised about raising my own little von Trapp family of musicians. I grew up in a musical family myself. My siblings and I all played instruments, my sister and I sang, and my parents were musical....

Hi. I was wondering if I could ask you a question. Well, actually, I’d like to ask you a really big favour, and I hope I find the right words… So began my bumbling enquiry to a local café owner about some regular work experience for my daughter – a lumpy melange of...

Over six years, since my daughter developed Addison’s as a barely-minted teenager, I’ve watched with increasing concern as she’s steadily grown outwards, not upwards, as the daily steroid medication she needs to manage her endocrine condition takes (side) effect....

Every instrument, including the wildly underappreciated recorder, has its own charms. When it comes to instrument playing in the younger years – especially in a specialist/special needs setting, where I teach – the recorder is a prime example of how...

Ongoing eye surgery My daughter had a major operation three years ago to give her new lenses – new eyes, as we described it. Her eyesight improved dramatically and the child who had needed glasses from the age of 21 months now moved around confidently without them....